Staikouras files new railway safety indictment with Supreme Court
In the wake of recent incidents across several public transport networks, Infrastructure and Transport Minister Christos Staikouras referred to justice and submitted new evidence on the state of the national railway network to the Supreme Court on Monday.
A recent railway incident in Athens has raised fresh concerns about the country’s train system, just 20 months after the tragic Tempe crash in central Greece, which claimed 57 lives.
Earlier this month, a suburban train was was mistakenly directed onto a metro line near Doukissis Plakentias station, forcing it to reverse course. Although no injuries occurred, the mistake revealed communication failures between train operators and traffic controllers. Another near-collision between two passenger trains near Aghii Anargyri station in northwest Athens took place last month.
Staikouras visited Supreme Court prosecutor Georgia Adelini for the second time since April, when he initially filed two indictments related to railway safety.
He informed the prosecutor of an additional indictment filed a week ago concerning “worrying incidents on the Greek railway,” he said.
Last month, two passenger trains were placed on a head-on collision course on the same stretch of track on Athens’ suburban railway. A crash was prevented at the time.
“We are working methodically and persistently to improve and enhance the safety of rail transport and to upgrade the quality of services provided. We must all be subject to evaluation, oversight, and adherence to the law,” the minister added.
